The diversity of San Diego County’s population shows up in the shifting surnames that top a list of homebuyers, tracked since 1990 by MDA DataQuick’s analyst John Karevoll. Western European family names have been joined by others from Asia and Latin America, as those ethnic groups have joined the middle class and become homeowners.

One caveat: The number of distinct Asian and Latin surnames tends be fewer than for other nationality groups, so their ranking may overstate their proportion in the householder population. But the fact that they show up on the Top 10 list speaks volumes about the upward mobility that’s part of the American dream.

As Karevoll says: “Clearly, there's more cultural diversity in today's pool of those entering home ownership than was the case 10 or 20 or 30 years ago. The Smiths, Browns and Millers did most of their buying years ago, now it's the Nguyens, Garcias and Lees’ turn.

That said, the math is important. A high percentage of people with Vietnamese heritage have the last name Nguyen, or Tran. From Korea it's Kim and Park. Those percentages are much higher in their communities than Smith or Brown ever was.”